The newly opened Axe and Palm has morphed Old Union into a livelier student hang-out spot than it has been in past years, but the ASSU has a grander plan in mind. The Executives and their Cabinet plan to transform Old Union into the social and cultural core of campus life, and the Old Union Programming Board (OUPB) has been created to help achieve that goal.

“[The ASSU wants to] make Old Union a premier destination on campus,” said ASSU Vice President Mondaire Jones ‘09 and ASSU Chair of Student Union Initiatives Ben Fong ‘08 in an OUPB proposal.

The Board’s first priority is to coordinate a wide variety of student events in Old Union, including live band performances, rallies for major Stanford sporting events, visual art exhibitions and the ASSU State of the Association Address. Members of the OUPB have not yet been chosen, but ASSU Executives are hard at work communicating with student groups in the meantime.

“We’re already communicating with the drama department about performances in the lobby,” Fong said. “We’re getting the Stanford Concert Network and local bands to perform in the Axe and Palm.”

Fong and Jones hope that these events will push Old Union to be the number one meeting spot for students on campus.

“Right now the campus doesn’t really have a central space,” Fong said. “When students meet it’s usually in class or in the dorms, which is more a personal space.”

In addition to promoting Old Union as a flexible, multi-purpose lounge, the OUPB will also support educational theme events such as Women’s History Month, religious and cultural celebrations and a variety of social and national holidays.

The Board will consist of 10 to 12 members, with a minimum of three undergraduate representatives. But according to Jones, finding interested undergraduates is not a concern of the ASSU.

“There will probably be many more than three undergraduates on the Board,” he said. “The real challenge will be getting graduate students involved.”

Despite its ratio of undergraduate to graduate students, Fong emphasized that, through its work with Old Union, the OUPB will enhance student life on campus for the entire student body.

“The Old Union is valuable,” Fong said. “It can be a social hub for all students.”